Kallikrateia

Above the port of Nea Kallikrateia in Chalkidiki, beside the road, lie the scant foundations of a Byzantine tower. Its origins are uncertain, but the structure was already described as old in a 1338 document of the Monastery of Xenophon on Mount Athos, which recorded an “old tower standing on the cliff” among the properties of its local metochi, or dependency. The tower may date from the thirteenth century or earlier, and its position suggests it once served as a vigla, a lookout post, possibly in use since the Middle Byzantine period before passing to the monastery. Almost square, measuring roughly five metres to a side, it survives only at foundation level, with one corner now covered by the road. A supporting platform has recently been added, as the loose ground puts the remains at risk of landslides; older photographs show more earth around the tower, confirming the need for this intervention.